IAEA chief hopes for crunch meeting in Iran after Tehran says it’s off

IAEA chief hopes for crunch meeting in Iran after Tehran says it’s off
Grossi's tweet was in response to Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami’s comments to state media, but that Iran had not made such remarks to the International Atomic Energy Agency directly. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 16 November 2022

IAEA chief hopes for crunch meeting in Iran after Tehran says it’s off

IAEA chief hopes for crunch meeting in Iran after Tehran says it’s off
  • “I hope our planned technical meeting with Iran takes place,” Grossi said on Twitter
  • The issue has been an obstacle to progress in wider talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal

VIENNA/DUBAI: UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday he hoped a meeting with Iran later this month to end an impasse over traces of uranium found at undeclared sites would proceed after Iran’s nuclear chief reportedly said it was not “on the agenda.”
“I hope our planned technical meeting with Iran takes place,” Grossi said on Twitter.
He said at a news briefing moments later that he was responding to a comment by Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami, reported by state media. Iran has not made such remarks directly to the IAEA, he added.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s years-long investigation into the particles is now stalled, and both sides have agreed to meet in Tehran, with the IAEA saying it “expects to start receiving from Iran technically credible explanations” on how the particles got there.
The issue has been an obstacle to progress in wider talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and has prompted Western powers to push for a fresh resolution targeting Iran at the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors meeting this week, this time ordering Iran to quickly answer the IAEA’s questions.
Eslami’s comments appeared to be in response to the draft resolution prepared by the United States and the so-called E3 — Britain, France and Germany — that the board will vote on this week. A similar resolution was passed by a large margin in June.
“For now, there is no trip of the IAEA to Iran on the agenda. Considering Iran’s goodwill and its logical answers, we can hope for good results if the agency follows a professional and non-political path,” Iranian state media quoted Eslami as saying on Wednesday, the opening day of the IAEA board meeting.
Eslami added that Iran rejects the draft resolution, which says the board “decides it is essential and urgent” for Iran to give the IAEA the answers and cooperation it seeks.
Asked what it would mean if the meeting did not happen, Grossi said: “Well, it would make things even worse than they already are. We are not making progress.”


Israel's Netanyahu fires defence minister: Statement

Israel's Netanyahu fires defence minister: Statement
Updated 12 sec ago

Israel's Netanyahu fires defence minister: Statement

Israel's Netanyahu fires defence minister: Statement

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday fired Defense Minister Yoav Galant, a day after he broke ranks to call for a pause in the government’s controversial judicial reforms.

Netanyahu “decided to relieve Minister of Defense Yoav Galant of his duties,” the prime minister’s office said in a brief statement.


Tense Ramadan ahead for Palestinians as Israeli excesses continue

Tense Ramadan ahead for Palestinians as Israeli excesses continue
Updated 21 min 12 sec ago

Tense Ramadan ahead for Palestinians as Israeli excesses continue

Tense Ramadan ahead for Palestinians as Israeli excesses continue
  • On Sunday, four Israeli settlers threw flammable material at the house of Ahmed Awashreh in Sinjil north of Ramallah

RAMALLAH: Palestinian sources have warned that Israel has no intention of de-escalating during Ramadan, following a weekend of attacks in the West Bank and incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

On Sunday, four Israeli settlers threw flammable material at the house of Ahmed Awashreh in Sinjil north of Ramallah, a village repeatedly targeted by settlers from Givat Harel, Shilo and Ma’ale Libouna.

It comes weeks after fierce settler attacks on Huwara, Burin, and Qaryut, south of Nablus, where dozens of homes and vehicles were burned.

Awashra, 35, said he and his family of six had to flee for their lives and it was a miracle no one was killed.

Palestinian leaders have warned of a repeat of the 2015 attack in Duma, south of Nablus, when settlers burned the house of the Dawabsha family. 

Ali Dawabsha, who was 18 months old, was killed in the fire while his parents, Saad and Riham, died of their injuries days later. Their four-year-old son, Ahmed, suffered severe burns but survived.

Yossi Dagan, head of the Israeli Settlements Council in the northern West Bank, on Sunday opened an office near Huwara to protest against the lack of security for settlers passing through the area.

The move is reminiscent of Itamar Ben-Gvir, minister for internal security, who set up an office in the Sheikh Jarrah area of East Jerusalem last year when Palestinians resisted the attempted seizure of their homes by settlers.

Meanwhile early on Sunday, the Israeli army arrested five Palestinians from Tulkarem and Huwara and closed off Nablus hours after two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a drive-by shooting in Huwara.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said that it had carried out the attack. 

Dozens of settlers gathered in Huwara and attacked Palestinian vehicles with stones near the Deir Sharaf roundabout in northern Nablus, leaving some cars damaged.

Elsewhere, dozens of heavily armed settlers stormed the Old City of Hebron on Saturday night, chanting racist slogans amid a heavy deployment of the Israeli forces.

Israeli police officers and border guards meanwhile stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on Saturday, forced all worshipers to leave, seized phones and arrested two people, Palestinian sources said.

Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the imam of Al-Aqsa, told Arab News that Israel was prosecuting a fierce campaign against the mosque that violated the freedom to worship.

“We did not see any facilities from the Israeli authorities during this Ramadan. Rather, we saw thousands of people gather at the Qalandia and Bethlehem checkpoints after the occupation prevented them from reaching Al-Aqsa Mosque to perform Friday prayers,” Sabri said.

Sabri added that the influx of worshippers to Al-Aqsa during Ramadan, whose numbers have exceeded those of previous years, is a response to Israel.

He said that a further tension and escalation depended on the actions of Israel.

“It depends entirely on the actions and procedures of the occupation. If the situation escalates, there will be tension, and if it does not, calm will prevail,” Sabri. “Whoever calls for calm must not take any action that provokes the feelings of Muslims."

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the incursions into Al-Aqsa and the ongoing incitement by settlers. It said the eviction of worshippers was a crime and an offense against the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Ramadan.


Houthis attack Yemeni forces in Shabwa amid militia’s escalating operations

Houthis attack Yemeni forces in Shabwa amid militia’s escalating operations
Updated 51 min 58 sec ago

Houthis attack Yemeni forces in Shabwa amid militia’s escalating operations

Houthis attack Yemeni forces in Shabwa amid militia’s escalating operations
  • Houthis attacked Shabwa Defense Forces on Saturday in a range of mountains
  • Government troops said that the Houthis were forced to suspend the assault and withdraw

AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni government troops in the southern province of Shabwa announced on Sunday that they had repelled a Houthi assault on their positions in the face of the militia’s continuing expansion of military operations.

Houthis attacked Shabwa Defense Forces on Saturday in a range of mountains which connect the Merkhah Al Ulya district with the adjacent Bayda province, resulting in a fierce battle that reportedly killed and wounded many soldiers on both sides.

Government troops said that the Houthis were forced to suspend the assault and withdraw after failing to capture control of the highlands, and that military reinforcements were sent to the front line to repel any future action.

Unofficial Houthi media sources said that its troops had moved 8 km into government-held territory in Merkhah Al Ulya.

A Yemeni official in Shabwa told Arab News that the Houthi attacks had been intended to distract government soldiers rather than occupy the province.

The official, who requested anonymity, said: “Rather than a full-scale military action in the area, the purpose of the strike is to stir up sluggish waters.”

The Houthi military buildup in Shabwa comes only days after heavy combat erupted in the central province of Marib when government soldiers were attacked in rural areas of Hareb.

The fighting subsided on Sunday amid reports that government forces had regained villages held by the Houthis.

Meanwhile, Taiz Gov. Nabil Shamsan said on Twitter that Houthis had attacked his convoy for 90 minutes on Saturday with a guided missile, mortars, and artillery bombs as he was returning to Taiz from the city of Mocha on the Red Sea.

One of his bodyguards was killed and two others were injured in the incident.

Houthi assaults and the militia’s military escalation have sparked outrage and warnings of the impending failure of UN-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

Separately, Yemen’s Ministry of Human Rights said on Sunday that Houthis had encircled ancient areas in the city of Ibb and had detained scores of people, including two social media activists who took part in a rally against the militia last week.

The burial of a social media influencer turned into a protest against the Houthis on Thursday.

Protesters accused the militia of kidnapping, torturing, and executing Hamdi Abdel-Razzaq, also known as Al-Mukahal, an influencer abducted by the Houthis in October for criticizing corruption.

The Yemeni government said that armed Houthi forces in military vehicles surrounded Ibb, where the influencer had lived, and conducted raids on homes, detaining many people.

The government’s statement added: “The ministry has monitored the savage Houthi terrorist militia’s campaign of arbitrary arrests against Ibb residents, looting and destruction of their property, and terrorization of children and women.”


UAE slams Israeli decision to permit new settlements in Occupied Territories

UAE slams Israeli decision to permit new settlements in Occupied Territories
Updated 26 March 2023

UAE slams Israeli decision to permit new settlements in Occupied Territories

UAE slams Israeli decision to permit new settlements in Occupied Territories
  • Gulf state reaffirms rejection of violations of international law, threats to regional stability

DUBAI: The UAE has strongly condemned Israel’s decision to allow resettlement in northern West Bank areas, and to permit new settlement units in the Occupied Territories, the Emirates News Agency reported on Sunday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation reaffirmed the UAE’s rejection of all practices that violate international law and threaten to aggravate regional escalation and instability. 

The ministry also emphasized the importance of supporting all regional and international efforts to advance the Middle East peace process, as well as ending illegal practices that jeopardize the two-state solution, and establishing an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

 


Iraq’s Kurdistan region to hold elections on Nov. 18 — spokesman

Iraq’s Kurdistan region to hold elections on Nov. 18 — spokesman
Updated 26 March 2023

Iraq’s Kurdistan region to hold elections on Nov. 18 — spokesman

Iraq’s Kurdistan region to hold elections on Nov. 18 — spokesman
  • The vote should elect both a parliament and a president for Kurdish regions

SULAIMANIYA: Elections will be held in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq on Nov. 18, the regional government spokesman said on Sunday.
Iraqi Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani issued a decree on Sunday and approved the date, KRG spokesman Dilshad Shahab told a news conference.
The vote should elect both a parliament and a president for Kurdish regions which have gained self-rule in 1991.